As Volkswagen unveils its brand new all-electric BUDD-e at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, we wanted to take a look backwards for Throwback Thursday, to is spiritual predecessor, the original VW Transporter Type II.
Sketchy Dutchman Unintentionally Makes History
Ben Pon's original notebook sketch for the VW Transporter.
In April 1947, a Dutch VW importer named Ben Pon visiting the company's assembly plant spotted a flatbed on the shop floor. In the wake of World War II, consumers were desperate for inexpensive transportation in a struggling economy and VW was having trouble meeting the demand for the Beetle, so workers custom built part and box haulers atop a Beetle chassis to improve factory efficiency. This inspired him to sketch out an idea for a forward-controlled rear-engined hauler that would become the basis for an entirely new type of vehicle. After a few years of refinements, from developing a custom ladder frame to aerodynamic streamlining, the 1950 Volkswagen Transporter Type II was born.
As an inexpensive, utilitarian vehicle, it's not a stretch to say the Transporter helped play a part in rebuilding Europe after the Second World War. Retail shop owners used the vans to carry their goods, restaurateurs used them to pick up ingredients which farmers hauled to town from their fields in - you guessed it - VW Transporters. Despite the meager power from the flat four motor shared with the Beetle, even construction workers and tradesmen bought up the vans to carry supplies and equipment to and from work sites. The Transporter's utility, adaptability and low cost helped mobilize the struggling European economy. It even earned the van a nickname, "Combi," for its many combined uses.
Production expanded abroad, to both Brazil and South Africa, where the Transporter provided inexpensive transportation to the developing world. In South America, the Bus is used as a postal service vehicle, army troop transport, hearse, school bus, group taxi and construction material hauler, as well as food truck to serve the same builders who drove their VWs to the worksite. Its adaptability and practicality were virtually unmatched and saw the original Bus continue in production in Brazil for 56 years.
In 1951, the Samba Bus, designed for passenger transportation, debuted with the iconic two-tone paint, a roll-back sun roof and 21 windows to allow a panoramic view for travelers. With only 25hp from the Beetle-sourced motor and running gear and a top speed of 75 KPH, the Bus catered best to very patient passengers with flexible schedules.
Photo by Rafael Ruivo via Wikipedia
A litany of variants followed, from pick-ups to panel vans and the famous Westfalia camper van, the more than 30 models all found buyers in various industries. After only four years, the 100,000th Transporter rolled off the assembly line in Wolfsburg and the decision was made to build a Transporter-specific factory in Hannover to keep up with demand. By the end of the first generation's production, more than 1,800,000 had been sold.
A New Generation for the New Generation
As the economy regained its footing in Europe throughout the 60s and 70s, the Type II began to take on a new role, particularly in the United States. Initially, reception of the Transporter, as with the Beetle, had been ice cold due to the brand's strong association with the Third Reich.
Photo courtesy of Curitiba in English.
Both the Beetle and the Transporter arrived in strong contrast to the American vehicles of the time, which were increasing in size and engine power and decreasing in gas mileage and reliability. In 1959, advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach launched a campaign highlighting the small size, low price, high gas mileage, reliability and German engineering of VW Transporters, which ultimately changed many minds. In fact, the campaign is credited with propelling the brand to the top-selling import spot throughout the next few years.
More interesting than how many vans were being bought was who was buying them in the United States. Being of such an opposing shape and style to typical American vehicles, the van found appreciation with hippies, surfers and other counterculture crowds who valued nonconformity and alternatives to mainstream consumerism. The Bus embedded itself in the popular culture, branching out beyond its utilitarian roots to haul boards back and forth to the beach and transport flower children to Grateful Dead concerts across the country.
“The microbus was pretty much the embodiment of peace, love and happiness,” according to VW Passenger Cars Chairman Dr. Herbert Diess at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show. In many ways, the Bus, its many variants and ease of customization became an icon of individualism in America, which jived with artists from Bob Dylan to the Beach Boys and even Steve Jobs, who is said to have sold his VW van in the 1970s to purchase a circuit board that led to the development of the Macintosh computer. Volkswagen even published an ad depicting a crying Type II upon Jerry Garcia's death in 1995, acknowledging and solidifying the van's icon status.
Peace, Love and New Body Styles
In 1967, the Bus received a complete overhaul, growing larger, safer and more powerful, allowing the van to reach a blistering 68 MPH through a revised 47hp motor. Though the Delorean itself had trouble reaching 88mph, the Libyans chasing Marty in Back to the Future stood no hope of catching him. Ten years later VW sold its 4,500,000th VW Microbus, with almost 2,300,00 being the second generation model. But the time of free love and hemp everything had passed and so too had the Transporter's role as a symbol of individualism and freedom.
Photo by Sven Storbeck via Wikipedia
In 1979 the Transporter was refreshed again, with a more angular style, reflecting the design trend of the time. Sales lagged until a diesel model was launched in 1981, with a water-cooled petrol engine coming the year after, both of which stimulated sales, but the third generation ultimately proved a disappointment, selling just more than 1,200,000 units. By then Disco had come and gone and the age of excess was beginning, the Bus would have to find a new role to stay relevant.
Moving it all Forwards
Photo by Erik Meltzer via Wikipedia.
The fourth generation Transporter was launched in 1990 and presented a radical shift for the VW Bus, just as the Golf had for the Beetle it succeeded. The engine was revised and moved to the front of the vehicle, as was the drivetrain, resulting in a complete swap from previous generations.
The reversal extended beyond its technical specifications though, as the new, even more versatile Transporter traded counterculture for commercial application, returning to its roots as an inexpensive hauler of people and goods for small- and medium-sized business owners. This proved successful for Volkswagen as the brand achieved 8,000,000 Transporter lifetime sales in 1997.
The Transporter was again redesigned in 2003, with a body style more reflective of VW's evolving corporate vehicle "face," while the Hannover plant celebrated its 50th anniversary of Bus production three years later.
The Future is Electric
With the BUDD-e concept, VW is once again shifting the role of its iconic van away from its current status as inexpensive people mover and light commercial vehicle. It's being heralded as a significant move for the company as it looks to move past its #Dieselgate scandal and embrace fully electric vehicles and roll out its "Modular Electric Toolkit" platform for future development.
Although this "toolkit" is expected to underpin the first generation of electric Volkswagens, there's no guarantee that the BUDD-e or a revived Microbus will be one of them. We'll almost certainly not see some features like gesture control or the square feet of LED screens to control everything. But if aspects like the 233-mile expected range, fast charging and low anticipated cost are retained, VW could have a real winner on its hands and go after the market segment currently buying Scion xBs and Nissan Jukes and Cubes when it (hopefully) appears on showroom floors in 2020.
The BUDD-e is not just special for its potential as a game-changer for Volkswagen and versatility as a platform for the development of other vehicles, but because of its heritage. Sure, you can go out and buy a Leaf or probably even a Tesla Model 3 before a new Microbus ever sees production, but there's some intangible character in owning a vehicle whose predecessors helped turn around the European economy after war and achieved icon status as a symbol of individuality.
Here's hoping we see a 2020 VW BUDD-e with an optional roof rack and Beach Boys pre-loaded into the infotainment system. I'm rooting for you, BUDD-e.
Authored by
Devlin Riggs